Manila Gearing Up for Debut of One Super Series at One: Heroes of Honor

Wazzup Pilipinas!

While the Philippine capital is abuzz with the announcement of the main event showdown between Team Lakay’s Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon (17-5) and Bali-based American Andrew Leone (8-3), another spectacle is ready to be unveiled at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Making its debut on 20 April at ONE: HEROES OF HONOR is the highly-anticipated ONE Super Series, a new iteration in ONE Championship’s efforts to bring martial arts to the forefront in mainstream culture.

According to ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong, the ONE Super Series aims to provide the world's best martial artists a prestigious global platform to showcase the beauty of Asia's striking arts such as Muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, taekwondo, Kung Fu, wushu, sanda, silat, lethwei, and more.

It will feature various-styled bouts under ONE Championship’s unique rule sets, including kickboxing and Muay Thai, some in the ring, some in the cage, and with ONE Championship branded boxing or grappling gloves. It’s an exciting development in the professional martial arts landscape that could have a lasting effect on the future of the sport.

The premiere offering for Manila’s ONE Super Series is a battle featuring international kickboxing superstar Giorgio Petrosyan of Italy, who takes on 25-year-old “Smokin’” Jo Nattawut of Thailand.

The 32-year-old Petrosyan is known as one of the finest kickboxing talents in the world. He began his professional Muay Thai career at the age of 16 competing between bantamweight and middleweight, winning multiple titles across each division.

With a professional kickboxing record of 85-2-2, 2NC, Petrosyan is known for his incredible 6-year 42-bout win streak which is considered one of the most dominant reigns in middleweight history.

On the other hand, Nattawut is a kickboxing star from Atlanta, Georgia with a professional kickboxing record of 60-11-2. Originally from Korat, Thailand, Nattawut is a former Lion Fight Super Welterweight Champion and WMC Champion, known for his powerful elbow and knee strikes.

Aside from the marquee talent debuting at ONE Super Series in Manila, is the unveiling of a brand new ONE Super Series five-rope ring. Up until this point, ONE Championship has held martial arts bouts inside the famed ONE cage, but at ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, a new battlefield will be revealed.

Specifications and details have yet to be announced, but all bouts are expected to be held inside the new ring, including bouts that are officiated under ONE’s Global Rule Set. This means that, for the first time in ONE Championship history, Mixed Martial Arts contests will be held in the ring instead of in the cage.

This is a huge development and one that could be a potential game-changer. The ring is set to be unveiled in the coming weeks, with select media getting the opportunity to have a first-look before the arena doors open to the public.

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For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

Sustaining Career Renaissance is in Honorio Banario’s Best Interest

Wazzup Pilipinas!

After scoring a one-punch knockout that was heard around the world, former ONE Featherweight World Champion Honorio “The Rock” Banario is set to make his much-awaited return to action on 20 April.

Banario is slated to duke it out with Australian veteran Adrian “The Hunter” Pang on the undercard of ONE: HEROES OF HONOR, which takes place at the 20,000-capacity SM Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines.

“I am back! It’s exciting because this will be my first bout in 12 months. I miss everything about competing. It’s an honor because my comeback bout will happen on Philippine soil. Big things are ahead of me,” he expressed.

The 28-year-old native of Mankayan, Benguet never entertained the idea that his best days were behind him as after losing five bouts in a row from 2013 to 2015.

Proving that he could bring back the glimmer in his professional career, Banario has won four-straight matches, including two spectacular finishes in his last two outings.

In April 2017, Banario showcased another epic performance, stopping ONE Championship debutant Jaroslav Jartim with a single left hook.

Countering a body kick with a punching combination, Honorio unleashed a left hook that landed square on Jartim’s jaw, turning the lights out immediately for his Czech opponent.

It was Banario’s first real knockout victory since he stopped compatriot Andrew Benibe at ONE: PRIDE OF A NATION in August 2012.

“That win was so memorable. It was all muscle memory because in training, the left hook is always my go-to move. It landed flush during the match. I went home with a big smile on my face,” Banario recalled.

Following four stellar victories since transferring to the stacked lightweight bracket, another win could elevate Banario to title contention for the ONE Lightweight World Championship, which is currently in the possession of two-division kingpin Martin Nguyen.

However, a tough test in the form of Pang awaits Banario at ONE HEROES OF HONOR, which is headlined by his Team Lakay comrade Kevin Belingon taking on American contender Andrew Leone.

Pang, who hails from Brisbane, Australia, is a perennial lightweight competitor famous for his extreme toughness and has walked through opponents with his overwhelming power.

In addition to being a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Pang is regarded as a hard-hitter who is known for dropping foes with a single punch.

Although Pang is already 40 years old, Banario believes that his Australian opponent remains as a formidable counterpart due to his vast martial arts experience.

“Even if he is up there in age, he has not appeared to have slowed down. He is still very strong, and he has the experience of a veteran, which is very tough to deal with,” he acknowledged.

However, Banario likes his chances against Pang as he believes that his size advantage will play a pivotal role in their lightweight clash.

“I have a better cardio than he does, and I am a little taller than he is, so I am going to use that to my advantage. I am young, and I am strong, so I feel very confident that I can outlast him, conditioning-wise. In terms of skill, however, we are very even. We have a similar skill set,” he explained.

According to Banario, if he can defeat Pang in convincing fashion, it will be the biggest triumph of his pristine run as a lightweight.

“Ever since I moved up to lightweight, I feel so much stronger. This is my natural fighting weight. I am a lightweight fighter. I just feel reinvigorated. My punches and kicks are powerful, my body is sturdy, and my mind is strong,” he stated.

“I feel as though the momentum is still on my side. I want to continue what I started,” Banario added.

With ONE Championship housing high-caliber lightweights such as Pang, Eduard Folayang, Ev Ting, Amir Khan, Timofey Nastyukhin, Ariel Sexton and Shinya Aoki, Banario asserted that his main objective is to elevate his status in the weight class’ rankings.

“I’m a hundred percent ready to go back in there again. I will fight anyone who stands in front of me. I have no problem if it’s a big name or a small name in this division. What’s important is that I stay active and improve my rankings,” he ended.

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​For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.​

PLDT Employees Cooperative Partners with ePLDT to Adopt Microsoft Office 365 ​

Wazzup Pilipinas!

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ePLDT, Inc., together with PLDT Enterprise, recently penned a partnership agreement with the PLDT Telephone Employees’ Service Cooperative (TELESCOOP) to fully integrate Office 365 into the company’s daily business operations.

Microsoft Office 365 is a suite of productivity tools, which allows users to work anytime, anywhere and on any device. It boasts of communication solutions built for effective team collaboration—from e-mail and instant messaging (IM) to social networking and video conferencing.

“One way to professionalize us as a company is to upgrade the tools that we use to serve the members of TELESCOOP,” said Marcos De Leon, TELESCOOP Chairperson. “Adopting Office 365 is just the start of our meaningful engagement. We’re glad that both ePLDT and PLDT Enterprise are with us for this cause.”

TELESCOOP is a PLDT cooperative that offers financial empowerment to employees and stakeholders of the company and its subsidiaries. It aims to provide prompt, efficient, quality and innovative service that complies with the principles of its cooperatives. Its services include financial loans, business loans and loans for personal purchases such as gadgets, among others.

“ePLDT has been transforming enterprises with best-of-breed platform that are deployed and managed by certified experts,” said Nerisse Ramos, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ePLDT Group. “This engagement for TELESCOOP’s adoption of Office 365 marks the beginning of their digital transformation, and we look forward to build stronger partnerships with them.”

Jovy Hernandez—Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT Enterprise—said that PLDT Enterprise and ePLDT team up to help customers like TELESCOOP improve their e-mail system with the adoption of a more professional suite of productivity solutions.

“TELESCOOP has been positively transforming the lives of PLDT employees for many years. As they evolve through the adoption of innovative solutions, they will be even more beneficial and critical to PLDT’s workforce. We look forward to how they will continue to create an even more positive and lasting impact on the organization as a whole.    

ePLDT is the industry-leading enabler of digital enterprise solutions in the Philippines. It is the top Cloud Solutions Provider of Microsoft Office 365 in the Philippines and one of the leading in the Asia Pacific region.

The company received an International award from Microsoft as the PH Country Partner of the Year for 2017, and the Microsoft Philippines SME Cloud Service Provider Partner of the Year 2017.

For more information, please visit the website at www.epldt.com.

Photo Caption:

(L-R) Jovy Hernandez, Senior Vice President and Head of PLDT Enterprise; Marcos De Leon, Chairperson of TELESCOOP; Hector Profeta, Vice Chairperson of TELESCOOP; and Nerisse Ramos, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of ePLDT Group, recently engaged in a strategic partnership for PLDT Telephone Employees’ Service Cooperative (TELESCOOP)’s adoption of and migration to Microsoft Office 365. ​